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Only Students Enrolled in Section 63 (i.e. the 9:30am Lecture) Whose Surname Is Alphabetized Before "Leb" May Write on

Topic A

Innate Mathematical Knowledge

In the Meno, Socrates argues for there being innate knowledge, i.e., knowledge had prior to, or independent of, experience. As an example of such innate knowledge, he attempts to demonstrate that a slave who had no prior education in mathematics nevertheless possessed mathematical knowledge innately. Since the slave was merely being questioned in the demonstration and was not being taught anything, it appears that he must have already possessed the mathematical knowledge which the questioning simply helped him to recall from memory.

Is there something special about mathematical knowledge that distinguishes it from other areas of knowledge such as scientific, historical or moral knowledge? What reasons suggest that mathematical knowledge is more likely to be innate than are these other kinds of knowledge? Is it possible to construct a demonstration similar to the demonstration in the Meno but showing that scientific, as opposed to mathematical, knowledge is innate? What seem to be the most significant problems with, or objections to, Socrates’ demonstration in the Meno?

In your paper, you must do the following:

Explain how mathematical knowledge may differ from other kinds of knowledge which makes it more likely to be innate than those other forms of knowledge;
Provide what you take be the best argument against Socrates’ demonstration that the slave possessed mathematical knowledge innately.